Filing system and elements thereof

ABSTRACT

Filing cards provided with protuberances across a face designed to be disposed midway intermediate those of adjacent cards thereby spacing the cards in a file container permitting groups of cards to be manually flexed to give access to individual cards. A filing card container with card alignment members at each side, a removable compressible element at one end of the container, and compressible spacers located at intervals throughout a body of file cards, envelopes or other material, together with visual indexing indicia on the element and spacers for use in visual indexing of cards or microfiche.

[ Jan. 15, 1974 United States Patent [191 Specs FILING SYSTEM AND ELEMENTS 220/22 1 220/22.l 220/22.3 206/73 UX 220/22.3

e C n a v l0/l929 Gebser...U............,.............

my; w PC m m BCS 495 0363 9999 wwwu 950093 65 84 9 .3 On7n7- 36680 Calif.

Primary Examiner-George E. Lowrance [22] Ffled: 1969 Attorney-Whann & McManigal [2]] Appl. No.: 883,113

Related US. Application Data Continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 612,202, Jan. 27,

[63] 1967 b d d h f f t f Filing cards provided with protuberances across a face a an one W 1C 15 a con lnua ion'm-par O Ser. No. 328,798, Dec. 9, 1963, Pat. No. 3,301,263. de.slgned to be imposed q manned/ate those of ad acent cards thereby spacing the cards in a file container permitting groups of cards to be manually flexed to give access to individual cards. A filing card container with card alignment members at each side, a removable compressible element at one end of the container, and compressible spacers located at inter- 18 3 l0 .7 2W W 2 0 23 "B 2 m"2 m 0 2 mun m 2 "2 u. ""0 HH Z nnmz h c .r "Ha 8 I. 8... C & .M t e Umm 1 111] 218 555 References Cited vals throughout a body of file cards, envelopes or UNITED STATES PATENTS 4/1926 Ill 1943 8/1939 other material, together with visual indexing indicia on the element and spacers for use in visual indexing of cards or microfiche.

206/73 X 4 Claims, 31 Drawing Figures 1,582,541 Ringer 2,335,647 Chamberlain.. 2,171,105 Wurzburg PATENTEDJ 51974 3.785.520

SHIN 1 U! a w w vzw PATENTED 57974 3.7850520 saw 3 0f 4 ARTHUR T. SPEES PATENIEUJAN 1 5132-.

sum Of 4 FIG 28 FIG. 22

FIG: 25

FIG: 23

Fltr 29 FIG 27 IIYVEINTOR' ARTHUR T. SPEEs I 'F %m W .1 irm 1 .11

FIG-3| FILING SYSTEM ANDELEMENTS THEREOF The invention has to do with filing card systems. The application is a continuation in part of my copending application Ser. No. 612,202, filed Jan. 27, 1967, now abandoned, said copending application being in turn a continuation in part of application Ser. No. 328,798, filed Dec. 9, 1963, now Pat. No. 3,301,263.

An object of the invention isto provide a new and improved filing card system in which the individual cards stand erect in evenly spaced relation in their container and yet are flexible to provide easy access to any card. In this connection it is an object to provide a system in which a group of cards can be flexed to expose to view the face of a desired single card in the file or permit its removal.

Another object is to provide a filing card system in which the individual cards are resiliently flexible and are so made that when a group of the cards filling a container are flexed and compressed together to expose a single card to view or for removal, the group of cards so flexed becomes spring loaded and, when released, the individual cards spring back to erect, evenly spaced relation in the container.

A further object is to provide a filing card system in which the cards are so spaced that portions of the front face adjacent the upper edge thereof are visible and thus a card can be identified by suitable indicia thereon. In this connection it is an object to provide a system wherein the cards are evenly spaced in a manner to allow the use of lines or other indicia printed on the front face of the cards adjacent the top edge to be clearly visible across the top of the group of cards, thereby permitting the cards to be related visually to information, schedules or indicia provided at thefront,

atthe back or intermediate the file.

Another object is to provide'a card system wherein the construction of the cards is such as to result in minimum surface friction between cards when a card is inserted or removed from the group and which prevents any smudging of written or typed information on the face of the cards. 7

A further object is to providenovel means in a file card container for aligning and centering file cards therein and for guiding sheet material into and holding it between the sides of open-ended folder-type file cards or the like and yet offer only a minimum of friction against movement of the cards in the container.

Still another object'is to provide a file system embodying novel compressor means at one end of a file card container in conjunction with file card alignment means to provide easy access to the individual cards of a file.

Another object is to provide a unique system and elements for the filing and visual indexing of microfiche films and the like.

These and other objects will'be apparent from the drawings and the following description. Referring to the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view, partially broken away, showing a container with file cards therein embodying the invention; 1

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 but showing the file cards being flexed to expose the face of one card to view;

FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of a group of file cards with one card partially raised, the view being on a larger scale than FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view on line 4-4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view on line 5-5 of FIG. 3, but with the raised card shown at the same level as the other cards;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 5 but with the group of cards shown in laterally compressed condition;

FIG. 7 is a front elevational view of a group of cards showing an alternate filing system;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view on line 8-8 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view on line 9-9 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 10 is a view similar to FIG. 7 of still another form of the invention;

FIG. 11 is a sectional view on line 11-11 of FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a sectional view on line 12-12 of FIG. 10;

FIG. 13 is a face view of an alternate form of file card;

FIG. 14 is a section on line l414 of FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 is a section on line 15-15 of FIG. 13 but on a larger scale;

FIG. 16 is a section on line 16-16 of FIG. 13;

FIG. 17 is a section on line 17-17 of FIG. 13;

FIG. 18 is a face view of a film strip holder;

FIG. 19 is a section on line 19-19 of FIG. 18;

FIG. 20 is a section on line 20-20 of FIG. 18 but on a larger scale;

FIG. 21 is a face view of an envelope for holding microfiche film and showing a microfiche film therein, the view being partly broken away;

FIG. 22 is a fragmentary isometric view broken away of a filing container including side spacers, an end compressor and compressible spacers in conjunction with file folders, cards or the like;

FIG. 23 is a diagrammatic view of the filing container of FIG. 22 in normal position;

FIG. 24 is a view similar to FIG. 23 but showing the file material parted with the front or end compressor in ible spacers;

FIG. 30 is a face view of the upper edge portion of a microfiche illustrating a method of coding or indexing and the upper edge of a file folder; and

FIG. 31 is a fragmentary sectional view of the upper portions of a spacer, a file folder and microfiche.

More particularly describing the invention, referring first to FIGS. 1-9, numeral 11 generally designates a container or receptacle of box-like form for holding a plurality of file cards 12. The container is shown as having side walls 13, a rear wall 14, a bottom wall 15 and a removable front wall 16 which fits in grooves 17 in the side walls. A cover may be provided, if desired.

The individual file cards '12 are so designed as to stand upright in laterally spaced relation when in a group of sufficient cards to fill the container, and so designed that a group or plurality of the cards are resiliently flexible and may be compressed as shown in FIGS. 2 and 6 for the purpose of giving ready access to any given card inthe group. As will later appear, the

individual cards are placed in tension when a group is so compressed.

The cards themselves are each formed of a body 20 of sheet material and, while this may be paper, I prefer to form the cards of a more durable material and one having greater springiness than conventional paper card stock. By way of example, I have found that a plastics, such as rigid polyvinylchloride sheet material, is particularly suitable. The body should be readily flexible and springy so that when flexed and released it springs back to its original planar shape and has no tendency to warp or take a set. At least the front surface of the cards should be provided with a finish or texture suitable for writing and typing thereon.

To accomplish the spacing of the cards in the group, the body of each card is embossed or otherwise formed so as to provide a plurality of small projections or protuberances 21 on at least one face thereof. While, for the purpose of illustration I only show seven such protuberances, l contemplate that in actual practice a greater number would be provided. In this connection, throughout the drawings the thickness of the cards and the size of the projections have been exaggerated to facilitate illustration. By way of example, the thickness of a card may be of the order of 0.010 inch while the height, or extent laterally of the card body, of the protuberances may be anywhere from twice the thickness of the card to four or five times that thickness, and I have found that for a card having a thickness of 0.010 inch, a protuberance height of 0.085 inch is very satisfactory.

I prefer to arrange the protuberances 21 across the card in a manner to offer only minimum interference with the normal use of the card for writing thereon. Thus I show the protuberances. in two rows, one adjacent the upper edge of the card and the other adjacent the lower edge thereof, as best shown in FIG. 3, thereby leaving a substantial area of the card body uninterrupted so that it can be written or typed upon. The protuberances themselves in the form of the invention illustrated are formed from the body of the card by embossing or the like and thus a dimple 23 is formed on the front face of each card coincident with the protuberances on the rear face thereof. The cards may be said to have dimpled projections, or dimpled protuberances.

Adjacent cards in the file are provided with protuberances or embossed patterns which do not register. Thus, referring to FIG. 3, it will be seen that on the foremost card, designated 12A, the embossed pattern is such that the protuberances are disposed intermediate those of the next adjacent card, designated 128. It is only necessary to have two patterns and to arrange the cards alternately in the file to accomplish this, and the individual cards can readily be identified by a suitable marking or difference in shape, as by removing a corner portion to provide a diagonal edge 24 at one corner, as shown on the cards 12A.

Preferably the embossed pattern is such that the protuberances of one card are disposed midway between the protuberances of the cards adjacent thereto as is apparent in the drawings. With this arrangement it is possible to achieve maximum compression of a group of the cards as shown in FIG. 6, and when this is done the portions of each card body between the individual protuberances are bent in tension to form arches 26 over the protuberances of the next adjacent card and the entire group of compressed cards thus becomes spring loaded. Consequently, when the compressing force is released, the cards spring back to their original position, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 5. It will be apparent that the size, position and spacing of the protuberances are factors upon which the tension of the individual cards will depend when a group of cards is compressed.

Another feature of the invention is that the embossed pattern of the cards can be made such that the embossed pattern at the lower edge of one card will coincide or register with the embossed pattern of the upper portions of the adjacent cards, and thus a single card may be raised and releasably locked in elevated position by the interengagement of the referred to embossed patterns.

It will be noted from FIG. 1 that, by reason of the spacing of the cards, the front surface of each card adjacent its upper edge is visible and consequently this area may be provided with indicia, such as vertical, laterally spaced lines 33, between'one or more of which a key marking or tab 30 can be placed to classify the subject matter of a particular card. Also, the lines 33 can be correlated with similar lines 33 provided on the back wall (or front wall) of the container between which classification indicia can be placed, such as the letters A, B, C, etc. shown. If desired, metal clips (not shown) of a magnetic material, such as steel, can be fixed to the cards in a manner to classify the cards. When these are employed, a bar magnet (not shown) can be used to remove or partially remove all cards from the file as have such clips in alignment from front to rear of the group of cards, the cards being readily withdrawable because of the low friction between cards.

In the construction thus far described I have shown an embossed pattern of what may be termed dimpled protuberances or projections, however I contemplate that any means which will provide small protuberances on the surface ofa card may be used and it is not essential that the card be embossed. Also, other patterns of means for spacing the cards laterally may be used.

In FIGS. 7, 8 and 9 I show another form of the invention wherein a file card system is employed which includes plain or flat-surfaced cards 40 sandwiched between cards 41 which are embossed or otherwise formed to provide protuberances 42 on one face thereof and protuberances 43 on the other face thereof. The plain cards 40 should also be of a material possessing flexible springiness so as to impart the same qualities to this arrangement as attributed to the arrangement previously described.

A simple form of the invention especially suitable for paper or materials which do not successfully retain an embossed pattern of protuberances is shown in FIGS. 10, 11 and 12. Here the individual cards are each formed of a body 50 of sheet material which is bent upon itself at 51 to form the back and front sheets 52 and 53, respectively. In order to space the cards apart in the file and produce a compressible group of cards, the front sheets are bent upon themselves at their upper margins at 55 below the upper edges of the back sheets 52 to provide an inturned terminal or marginal spacing flap 56 of limited width. In this construction, the natural bow of the cards is relied upon to a great extent to insure spacing.

Referring now to FIGS. 13-17, I show an alternate form of file card, designated 60, in which a plainbodied card sheet 61 is fitted with a spacing means 62 along its upper marginal edge portion and another spacing means 63 along its lower marginal edge portion. The means 62 may be made of a suitable plastic, such as polyvinyl chloride, or other material having a springy flexibility, and comprises a strip of material having a back section 64, an end section 65, a flat front section 66 and a protruding or ribbed front section 67. All but the latter section 67 are adhered or sealed to the card body. The section 67 is generally V-shaped in cross section, although it might be rounded, and provided along the apex thereof with evenly spaced, alternately oppositely facing protuberances 68.

The means 63 is in all respects similar to the means 62 except that it is not provided with the protuberances 68, and consequently the sections thereof have been correspondingly numbered but distinguished by the letter A. I contemplate that a card may be made with the means 62 at both edges, or with the means 63 at both edges, as alternate constructions.

With the construction shown and described, the means 62 and 63 serve to space the bodies 61 of a series of cards placed in a file container, with the spacing means 62 acting in the same manner as the protuberances on the folded cards of U.S. Pat. No. 3,301,263. Thus, the means 62 provides the same flexibility, spacing and compressibility of a group of cards. The means 63, where used, provides adequate spacing and flexibility without the type of compressibility illustrated in FIG. 6.

In FIGS. 18-20 l show a microfilm jacket 70 for microfilm strips 71. The jacket is formed of two transparent sheets 72 and 73 which are sealed to any desired number of spacer strips 74 therebetween defining open-ended channels or spaces 75 to slideably receive the film strips 71, one in each space. The sheet 73 is formed with an outwardly projecting rib or ridge 76 adjacent its upper margin, shown as-V-shaped in cross section, although it might be rounded, and a similar rib or ridge 78 adjacent the lower margin of the sheet. An upper, relatively narrow channel75A is provided at the top of the holder to receive'a title strip 79 provided with suitable indicia 79' that is visible through the wall of the holder.

The construction describedserves to space the jackets in a drawer or container and allow of their'flexible compressibility for access. Also, by. reason of the spacing, the upper marginal area of the front surface of the jacket is visible in the file andcan-be used for indexing or coding although no indicia is shown on the jacket.

In FIG. 21 I show an envelope 80, preferably made of paper, which is specifically designed to hold a microfiche film 81 and offer maximum protection therefor. The envelope, made from a single piece of paper, has a rear sheet 83 with end flaps 84 to which a front sheet 85 is glued or cemented, the sheets being connected by a fold at the bottom. The upper margin'of the rear sheet is reinforced by a' flap 86 which is cemented or glued in place thereby strengthening the envelope at the upper edge portion which is subjected to the greatest -wear. The front sheet 85 of the envelope terminates below the upper edge of the rear sheet 83 thereby exposing the upper margin of the microfiche film to view thereby enabling the use of this area for visual indexing or coding. The construction described enables the provision of indicia 87 at and over the upper edge of the back sheet of the envelope since the blank for the envelope can be printed and subsequently folded to obtain the result. At the same time the film is fully enclosed and thus protected at the end edges by the end flaps 84.

Referring to FIGS. 22 to 29, I show a rectangular file drawer or container 82 with sidewalls 91, front wall 92 and rear wall 93. For purposes of illustration I show the container substantially filled with envelopes of the type shown in FIG. 21, however, depending upon the desires of the user, other file units may be used therein instead, such as plain file cards, or the special folders described and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,301,263, one of which is shown in FIG. 26, being designated 95.

For the purpose of centering a group of file cards, envelopes 80 shown, file folders, or the like, in the container 82 which is of greater internal width than the length of such cards, envelopes or folders, I provide a centering and alignment means in the form of a side guide 97 between the end edges of the envelopes 80 and each side of the container. Each guide has a thin flat body 98 provided with a downwardly inclined sec tion 99 at its upper edge and a terminal upwardly inclined section 100. The members may be metal or plastic but the material should have resiliency or spring quality. The side guides 97 serve to center and align the file cards, file folders or envelopes, being so' dimensioned as to be placed in compression by the body of the cards, designated 80 in FIG. 28, the normal position of the guide being shown in broken lines. The downwardly inclined sections 99 serve to guide cards or envelopes into place as they are inserted in the file. They also serve to guide microfiche or other film sheets into place when inserted in open-ended folders such as when folders are used in the file, as well as serving to retain the contents of such cards from protruding beyond the ends of such folders. This latter feature enables the coding of the films, such as microfiche, at their upper edges since it maintains the films in alignment. In this connection, it may be pointed out that the films are only a fraction of an inch shorter, at most, than the folders containing them.

Another advantage of the side guides is that there is only minimum friction between the elements in the file, whether they are cards, folders or envelopes, and the side guides, and thus the file is easy to work with as an entire group of cards can be moved back and forth with ease and without abrasion to the edges of the elements. The side guides also serve to hold a filed element in raised position where desired.

At the front of the container I provide an end compressor 104 made of springy sheet material and having a main planar body 105 provided with a forwardly extending base flange 106 normal thereto at its lower edge and with a forwardly extending downwardly inclined flange 107 at its upper edge having tapered ends 108 terminating in a depending lip 109.

Within the body of cards, envelopes or tile folders in the container I provide a plurality of compressible spacers 111 which are preferably evenly spaced so that they may serve as dividers in sequential filing systems or the like as will later appear. Each spacer 111 includes a front sheet 112 and a rear sheet 113 connected by a triple-fold bottom section 114. These sheets are thus spaced at the bottom and are yieldably spaced at the top by a downwardly inclined inner flange 115 on the front sheet of the spacer, the spacer itself being made of a stiffly springy material such as a suitable plastic.

In order to provide a visual indexing or coding system for the contents of the file, the upper marginal edge portion of the rear sheet of each spacer is provided with indicia such as the numbered, evenly spaced divisions 116 shown thereon, these being readily visible in the file because of the spacing between the front and rear sheets. Similar indicia are applied to the upper marginal area of the section 107 of the compressor 104.

It is a particular feature of my invention that it embodies a system or method of filing wherein microfiche films 81' are coded or indexed at their upper edge, as at 117 (FIG. 30) and that this coding or indexing is correlated to the indicia code applied to the upper edges of the compressor 104 and the spacers 111. Heretofore, so far as I know, no attempts have been made to do this. While the coding of the microfiche film can be done manually, or mechanically with any type of film, I prefer, in the case of computer output film, to have the indexing or coding computer-generated and thus appear on the film as it issues from the machine. With the code marking 117 at the upper edge of each film strip, it is readily visible in the file when the films are placed in folders 95 due to the spacing of the folders. The side guides 97 serve to maintain all elements in the file in alignment from front to rear and thus make feasible the use of coding or indexing systems which depend in part at least upon position marking of the material. Each element is thus easy to find in the file and misfiling is readily determined, and avoided, because of the obvious out-of-alignment indicia mark of a misfiled card.

In FIGS. 23-25 I show diagrammatically how the end or front compressor and the spacers are utilized and operate. FIG. 23 shows the normal position of the file container or drawer and its contents with the front or end compressor 104 and the spacers 111 upright and under no compression. FIG. 24 illustrates how readily access may be gained to a given part of the file by tilting several of the filed envelopes 80 forward to compress the front compressor 104 at the top and any intermediate spacers III. A similar compressor may be used at the rear of the file container if desired, allowing a group of the filed elements to be tilted back. When released, the elements return to normal position under the resiliency or spring force of the compressor 104 and spacer 111. In FIG. 25 I show the compressor 104 partially removed thereby giving additional space for access to the file and relieving the contents of being held together as where one might wish to make several insertions or remove several items.

I claim:

I. In a system for filing file card elements, envelope elements, or folder elements:

a. a rectangular container having sides and ends and having an internal width substantially greater than the length of the elements to be filed;

b. a plurality of elements to be filed disposed one behind the other within said container and substantially filling the same from end to end; and

c. a side guide between each side of the container and the ends of the elements filed therein whereby to hold said elements in alignment, said side guides having a thin flat free standing body portion provided with an inwardly protruding section, the inner margin of which is disposed in a spaced parallel relationship with the sides of the container, said inwardly protruding section of said side guides being uniformly resiliently yieldably compressible laterally of the container and being placed uniformly under the compression along the entire length of the container by the presence of the body of elements therebetween.

2. In a system for filing file card elements, envelope elements, or folder elements:

a. a rectangular container having sides and ends and having an internal width substantially greater than the length of the elements to be filed;

b. a plurality of elements to be filed disposed one behind the other within said container and substantially filling the same from end to end;

c. a side guide between each side of the container and the ends of the elements filed therein whereby to hold said elements in alignment, said side guides having a length no greater than the internal length of thecontainer and having an inwardly protruding section, the inner margin of which is disposed in a spaced parallel relationship with the sides of the container, said side guides being resiliently yieldably compressible laterally of the container and being placed uniformly under the compression by the presence of the body of elements therebetween; and

d. a plurality of resilient laterally compressible spacers provided at spaced intervals in the body of elements filed in said container, said spaced elements comprising spaced interconnected front and rear planar members, one of which is provided with a downwardly inclined flange at its upper margin adapted to engage the other member in a manner as to normally hold said members in a spaced relationship but being collapsible so as to allow the upper edges of said members to move into juxtaposition so as to permit the elements filed in the container to be moved from a normally vertical orientation into a forwardly inclined'orientation.

3. In a system for filing file card elements, envelope elements, or folder elements:

a. a rectangular container having sides and ends and having an internal width substantially greater than the length of the elements to be filed;

b. a plurality of elements to be filed disposed one behind the other within said container and substantially filling the same from end to end;

c. a side guide between each side of the container and the ends of the elements filed therein whereby to hold said elements in alignment, said side guides having a length no greater than the internal length of the container and having an inwardly, downwardly protruding section, the lower margin of which is disposed in a spaced parallel relationship with the sides of the container, said side guide being resiliently yieldably compressible laterally of the container and being placed uniformly under compression by the presence of the body of elements therebetween;

d. a compressor member positioned in said container between the front end and the elements filed therein, said compressor member comprising a main planar body having a forwardly extending downwardly inclined flange at its upper margin, said compressor member being formed of a springy material and being adapted to be forwardly collapsible relative to the front end of the container so as to allow the elements filed in the container to be moved from a normally generally vertical'orientation into a forwardly inclined orientation; and

. a plurality of resilient laterally compressible spacers provided at spaced intervals in the body of elements filed in said container, said spacers comprising spaced interconnected planar members, one of which is provided with a downwardly inclined flange at its upper margin adapted to engage the other member in a manner as to normally hold the members in a spaced relationship but being yieldably collapsible so as to allow the upper edges of said members to move into juxtaposition so as to permit the elements filed in the container to be entation. 

1. In a system for filing file card elements, envelope elements, or folder elements: a. a rectangular container having sides and ends and having an internal width substantially greater than the length of the elements to be filed; b. a plurality of elements to be filed disposed one behind the other within said container and substantially filling the same from end to end; and c. a side guide between each side of the container and the ends of the elements filed therein whereby to hold said elements in alignment, said side guides having a thin flat free standing body portion provided with an inwardly protruding section, the inner margin of which is disposed in a spaced parallel relationship with the sides of the container, said inwardly protruding section of said side guides being uniformly resiliently yieldably compressible laterally of the container and being placed uniformly under the compression along the entire length of the container by the presence of the body of elements therebetween.
 2. In a system for filing file card elements, envelope elements, or folder elements: a. a rectangular container having sides and ends and having an internal width substantially greater than the length of the elements to be filed; b. a plurality of elements to be filed disposed one behind the other within said container and substantially filling the same from end to end; c. a side guide between each side of the container and the ends of the elements filed therein whereby to hold said elements in alignment, said side guides having a length no greater than the internal length of the container and having an inwardly protruding section, the inner margin of which is disposed in a spaced parallel relationship with the sides of the container, said side guides being resiliently yieldably compressible laterally of the container and being placed uniformly under the compression by the presence of the body of elements therebetween; and d. a plurality of resilient laterally compressible spacers provided at spaced intervals in the body of elements filed in said container, said spaced elements comprising spaced interconnected front and rear planar members, one of which is provided with a downwardly inclined flange at its upper margin adapted to engage the other member in a manner as to normally hold said members in a spaced relationship but being collapsible so as to allow the upper edges of said members to move into juxtaposition so as to permit the elements filed in the container to be moved from a normally vertical orientation into a forwardly inclined orientation.
 3. In a system for filing file card elements, envelope elements, or folder elements: a. a rectangular container having sides and ends and having an internal width substantially greater than the length of the elements to be filed; b. a plurality of elements to be filed disposed one behind the other within said container and substantially filling the same from end to end; c. a side guide between each side of the container and the ends of the elements filed therein whereby to hold said elements in alignment, said side guides having a length no greater than the internal length of the container and having an inwardly, downwardly protruding section, the lower margin of which is disposed in a spaced parallel relationship with the sides of the container, said side guide being resiliently yieldably compressible laterally of the container and being placed uniformly under compression by the presence of the body of elements therebetween; d. a compressor member positioned in said container between the front end and the elements filed therein, said compressor member comprising a main planar body having a forwardly extending downwardly inclined flange at its upper margin, said compressor member being formed of a springy material and being adapted to be forwardly collapsible relative to the front end of the container so as to allow the elements filed in the container to be moved from a normally generally vertical orientation into a forwardly inclined orientation; and e. a plurality of resilient laterally compressible spacers provided at spaced intervals in the body of elements filed in said container, said spacers comprising spaced interconnected planar members, one of which is provided with a downwardly inclined flange at its upper margin adapted to engage the other member in a manner as to normally hold the members in a spaced relationship but being yieldably collapsible so as to allow the upper edges of said members to move into juxtaposition so as to permit the elements filed in the container to be moved from a normally generally vertical orientation into a forwardly inclined orientation.
 4. The system set forth in claim 3 in which said main planar body of said compressor member is of sufficient height to permit the forwardly extending downwardly inclined flange to be extended over the forward end of the container in a manner as to allow said main planar body to be moved into engagement with the forward end of the container, thereby permitting the elements filed in the container to be moved from a normally generally vertical orientation into a forwardly inclined orientation. 